Aaron Schwartzman and Brayden Bowers, both contestants on Charity Lawson’s “The Bachelorette” season, were involved in a boating accident and are “lucky to be alive.”
Terrifying Boating Accident In San Diego
Five men, including Aaron Schwartzman and Brayden Bowers, were contestants on Charity Lawson’s season of “The Bachelorette,” were involved in a boating accident during their fishing trip and were “lucky to be alive,” according to FOX.
The boat ended up underwater and sank 15 to 20 miles off the coast of San Diego. Luckily, two people found the survivors and were able to bring them back to shore.
“It’s like being trapped and helpless because there’s no service, we weren’t able to send a distress signal at all, and the only thing you have out there is hope, hope that somebody finds you, hope that a helicopter flies over,” Aaron Schwartzman, who owned the boat, said to FOX 5 Monday.
Schwartzman said he and his friends were hanging out at sea for a fun day, hoping to catch some fish, but things turned after they found themselves stranded in the water for three-and-a-half hours and about 15 miles from the coast.
“I finally bought the boat of my dreams, or so I thought, for it to sink on me,” Schwartzman said.
“My buddy Gavin got his line stuck on the engine propeller, so Aaron just went to the back of the boat to lift the engine and try and untangle it … all of a sudden, as soon as he stood on the swim deck … the boat just sunk,” Brayden Bowers, who was also on the boat, said to FOX 5. He and his friend Brayden Bowers met while filming the latest season of “The Bachelorette.”
Schwartzman Is A Member Of Fire and Rescue
Luckily, Schwartzman is a member of fire and rescue, as well as a few others involved in the group, and so they knew how to handle a situation like this — though they are still fortunate to be alive.
“It never occurs to you as a rescuer that you might need rescuing, but when you do, it’s good to know that people will step up the way you would,” Schwartzman said. “You think of the next steps …. but … what are the next steps when you’re 15 miles in the ocean, in a wind swell?” he added.
Bowers added, “We just tried to paddle to shore, so we linked arms, and we kind of just started kicking.”
Luckily, the group of friends were spotted by two others, Chris Keeran and his cousin TJ, who noticed something reflective in the water while out fishing.
“For whatever reason, we came to see if it was holding fish, and that’s when we saw the guys in the water,” TJ said.
“We were looking for yellowfin tuna and then found a school of men,” Keeran added.
“We don’t consider ourselves heroes; we’re doing whatever any other fisherman would consider doing,” Keeran said. “I’m just so grateful by the grace of God, we did see something reflective. Just the things that had to add up to get to them. I mean, once we did find them, that was our best catch of the day.”
Aaron Schwartzman and Brayden Bowers are set to appear in the upcoming “Bachelor In Paradise” season.